Itinerary with Attractions/Lodging/Food for Three Week Road Trip

Day One: 

9.5 hours Charlotte, NC to Memphis

Breakfast: Egg cups and coffee made a home

Stops: Tennessee Welcome Center, Buc-ee's

Lunch: Ham sandwiches, veggies, fruit (from home)

Hotel: Spring Hill Suites Beale Street: pros: free breakfast cons: $39 to valet park

Attractions and Dinner: walked from hotel Peabody Hotel and then to Beale Street, ate dinner at Silky O'Sullivan's with the diving goats

Day Two:

3 hours Memphis, TN to Hot Springs Off Road Park

Breakfast: provided with hotel stay

Explored: Mud Island and drove by Sun Record, Stax Record, and Graceland

Stops: Arkansas Welcome Center, Little Rock Central National Historic Site (free)

Lunch: leftover ham and items brought from home

Camping: Hot Springs Off Road Park

Dinner: Super Healthy Kids recipe of gnocchi made at camp site

Day Three:

5.5 hours Hot Springs National Park to Oklahoma City

Breakfast: granola, yogurt, and fruit brought from home

Explored: Hot Springs National Park (free)

Lunch: Superior Bathhouse Brewery

Hotel: Country Inn and Suites by Radisson Bricktown pros: free breakfast, hotel shuttle to Bricktown    

Explored: Bricktown and minor league ballpark

Dinner: Bricktown Brewery

Day Four:

4 hours Oklahoma City, OK to Amarillo, TX

Breakfast: provided with hotel stay

Explored: Oklahoma City Memorial 

Lunch: leftovers from dinner the night before

Hotel: Hampton Inn and Suites East Amarillo pros: free breakfast

Attractions and Dinner: The Big Texan and Route 66 stops including museum, VW Bug spray painting

Day Five and Six:

4.5 hours Amarillo, TX to Santa Fe Tree House

Breakfast: provided with hotel stay

Attractions: Route 66 stops including Cadillac Ranch, Blue Hole, Del's for lunch

Camping: Santa Fe Tree House x 2 nights

Dinner: bought groceries to have chicken sandwiches and mac and cheese

Breakfast: omelets made with groceries

Explored: Bandelier National Monument (used 4th grade pass to get in free), historic downtown Santa Fe

Lunch: sandwiches

Dinner: tacos bought from grocery

Day 7:

Santa Fe, NM to Holbrook, AZ

Breakfast: granola, yogurt, fruit

Lunch: Indian Pueblo Kitchen in Albuquerque 

Dinner: Butterfield Stage Co. Steakhouse

Hotel/Attraction: Wigwam Motel

Day 8:

Holbrook, AZ to  Hovenweep National Monument, UT

Breakfast: granola, yogurt, fruit

Explored: Petrified Forest National Park (used 4th grade pass to get in free)

Lunch: sandwiches

Explored: Monument Valley ($8 per person), Forrest Gump site

Camping: Hovenweep National Monument

Dinner: Epicure African Sweet Potato Stew (meatless)

Day 9:

Hovenweep National Monument, UT, to Best Western Movie Manor, CO

Breakfast: eggs, toast

Explored: Four Corners Monument ($8 per person), Mesa Verde National Park (free with fourth grade pass)

Lunch: sandwiches

Dinner: Fired Up Pizzeria Durango, CO

Hotel: Best Western Movie Manor, CO

Day 10:

Best Western Movie Manor, CO to Colorado Springs, CO

Breakfast: hotel provided with stay

Explored: Great Sand Dunes (free with fourth grade pass), Oasis to buy sand boards, Zapata Falls

Lunch: sandwiches

Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn Colorado Springs

Dinner: Back East Bar and Grill

Day 11:

Colorado Springs, CO to Broomfield, CO

Breakfast: Starbucks (hotel did not provide breakfast)

Explored: Garden of the Gods State Park

Lunch: sandwiches

Hotel: Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Boulder Broomfield/Interlocken

Dinner: Double D's Sourdough Pizzeria and Taphouse

Day 12:

Broomfield, CO to Rocky Mountain National Park

Breakfast: hotel provided with stay

Explored/Lunch: Rocky Mountain National Park (free with fourth grade pass)

Camping/Dinner: Glacier Basin Campground in RMNP

Day 13:

RMNP to Cheyenne, WY

Breakfast: eggs, bacon, granola, yogurt

Explored: RMNP and Wyoming Visitor Center

Lunch: sandwiches

Hotel: Tru Hilton in Cheyenne

Explored: Cheyenne

Dinner: AB BBQ

Day 14 and Day 15:

Cheyenne, WY to Custer State Park, SD

Breakfast: provided by the hotel with stay

Lunch: Taco John's in Hot Springs, SD

Explored: Mammoth Site ($) and Wind Cave National Park (free, paid for cave tour)

Dinner/Camping: Custer State Park x 2

Breakfast: Starbucks (it was raining)

Explored: Badlands National Park (free with fourth grade pass), Wall Drug

Lunch/Dinner: we made sandwiches and cooked over campfire

Day 16 and 17:

Custer State Park, SD to Sully Creek State Park, ND

Breakfast: campsite

Explored: Mount Rushmore ($10 to park), Devil's Tower National Monument (free with fourth grade pass)

Lunch: sandwiches

Dinner: Boots Bar and Grill

Camping: Sully Creek State Park across from Theodore Roosevelt National Park x 2

Breakfast: eggs

Explored: North and South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (free with fourth grade pass)

Lunch: sandwiches

Dinner: hot dogs

Day 18:

Sully Creek State Park, ND to St. Paul, MN

Breakfast: Starbucks 

Lunch: sandwiches at the Minnesota Visitor Center

Hotel: Hyatt Place St. Paul

Dinner: at St. Paul's Saints CHS Field

Day 19:

St. Paul, MN to Lincolnshire (Chicago), IL

Breakfast: provided at the hotel with stay

Explored: Minnehaha State Park, made lunch there

Dinner: St. Paul's Fish Company at the Public Market Milwaukee, WI

Hotel: Hampton Inn and Suites Lincolnshire/Chicago

Day 20, 21, 22:

Chicago, IL to family

Breakfast: provided at the hotel with stay

Explored: Indiana Sand Dunes National Park (free with the fourth grade pass)

Lunch: sandwiches

Family Time!!!

Pizza King one night in Noblesville, IN

Chick-Fil-A in North Carolina







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